Dragons, Drunks, and Debates
by See Through You
Summary: Raisa is tired of arguing with her peers about the abilities and limitations of dragons and decides to go straight to the source to find out the truth, Saphira. This decision sparks an odd sort of friendship between girl and dragon. At first everything is normal, until she stumbles into Saphira's Rider, literally.
1. Chapter 1

It was time to settle the debate once and for all, do dragons really speak? I still maintained that they could speak but only telepathically. The others were insisting that dragons were not capable of rational thought let alone speech. The only logical way to settle the debate I argued was to actually speak to the dragon that was currently in camp, Saphira. For some reason the others had balked at actually going up to a dragon and asking her if she could talk. I had announced that if the others were such pansies then fine, I would go ask her myself. The others had laughed at me and called me crazy and told me that I would never go through with it. Of course this had made me even more determined.

I waited until I knew for sure that Nasuada had called Eragon in so he could give her a report and then I calmly made my way to where Saphira was. Was I nervous? Yes. Excited? Also a yes. I had a small blank stack of papers stitched together in a makeshift book clutched in my hands for note taking purposes. As I got closer I could see the sunlight reflecting off her blue scales and throwing an arc of light around her body. I approached with my head held high and tried not to show any fear. I stopped in front of her with my book clutched to my chest for psychological comfort and then stopped. I decided to just get it over with and go with the direct approach.

"Hello." I said with more confidence than I currently had at the moment. But if Court had taught me anything it was how to fake confidence, otherwise the vultures would descend and pick you clean. I had seen it happen to a few others, it was never a pretty sight.

One blue eye opened and looked at me with lazy curiosity.

"My name is Raisa and I have a question for you."

Both eyes were open now and looking at me with considerably more interest than a few seconds before.

"This is going to sound impertinent but I swear that I don't mean for it to sound that way it's just that there is no polite way to phrase this question."

She blew a puff of smoke and I got the impression that she was saying, well get on with it then.

"Can you speak? Telepathically I mean. Because if you could talk out loud I would have known about it as soon as it happened and there are some people who under the impression that you are a dumb animal and I said that it was a stupid assumption to make because of the bond between Rider and dragon and why would there be a bond if you couldn't communicate in some way?" I took in a deep breath in at the end of my long rambling question as I had not really stopped to breathe.

She blinked slowly and I got the impression that she was amused.

"Oh, and I give you permission to speak directly to my mind to answer my question and if you don't I guess that's my answer." I said with a shrug.

_I can speak young one. _I could hear the amusement in her voice.

"I knew it!" My voice was triumphant. I then settled myself down on the ground and made good use of a nearby rock for a hard writing surface. I had many more questions I wanted to ask her.

"Do you shed your skin like a snake?"

_No. _she sounded offended that I was comparing her to a snake of all creatures.

"Well it is an honest question! Your scales look very snake like but prettier and shinier." I offered. "Next question, how do you see? Your eyes are slitted like a cat's eye, does that mean you have better night vision than a human?"

_Yes, I have far better vision than a human at night and during the day. Your eyesight is…limited._

And so the questions went one. I paid attention not only to her words but also to her facial expressions. Or what I could discern of her facial expressions. My writing became progressively messier as I hurried to get all of the information down. I looked up at the sun and nearly jumped in surprise. It was later than I thought.

"I have to go, otherwise I am going to be late." I explained as I stood up and shook the dirt from my skirt.

_Young one, you may come back tomorrow if you wish._

"I will be back." I promised and merrily went on my way practically buzzing with excitement. My sister Isodele would be especially excited by this information. She had been sentenced to bed rest after making a miraculous recovery from a thought to be fatal illness. She was mostly better now and going out of her mind with boredom. She had read all of the books we had brought with us and had resorted to counting the individual threads in the tent she was so bored.

"Issy, you'll never guess what happened!"

She was sitting propped up with a few spare pillows when she turned her head to look at me.

"We'll, guess." I said with a laugh as I plopped down on a nearby stool.

"The king asked you to marry him?"

"A real guess Issy, not a fairytale."

"I don't know, why you don't you tell me?" She had a gentle smile on her face.

"I talked with Saphira!"

"The dragon?" She gasped.

"No, the princess! Of course the dragon."

"She can talk? I knew it! Tell me everything." She demanded.

I got comfortable and told her the whole story concluding with "And she said I could come back tomorrow!"

"Oh that is so exciting, I have so many questions."

"I know, and I remember you pestering father for answers when your tutors only explained that there had once been dragons."

They were extremely unclear. They didn't even talk about their culture or their political structure which is important when trying to understand a society."

"I believe you scared away those particular tutors with all of your questions." I teased.

She scowled. "I can't help it if they are not used to girls asking questions."

"Our father is a scholar Issy, he raised us very differently from the other Nobles."

She rolled her eyes once and changed the subject. Night came and I went to bed excited for the next day, I finally had something exciting to look forward to.

The next three weeks were some of the strangest of my life. I had my lessons, visited with my sister, and then depending on what Nasuada's maid Farica said about Eragon's whereabouts, went to visit with Saphira. Our conversations slowly morphed form me asking her a question and her answering it, to games of riddles and just simply talking to each other. It was during week two that one particular conversation firmly divided my life into the before and after, though I did not know it at the time.

_There are people who are looking at you strangely for seemingly carrying on a conversation with yourself._

"Who cares if they stare?"

_We would have more privacy if you did not speak out loud. _

"What should I do instead? I don't have a single drop of magic in me, isn't that required for mind to mind conversations?"

_Only one needs magic for it to work._

"What are you suggesting?"

_I can teach you to speak with me mind to mind._

"Well how does that work?"

_Instead of speaking with your mouth, speak with your mind and direct your thought to me._

I gave her a blank look in response.

_Open your mind more and push the thought my way._

Push the thought her way? _Hello?_ I thought tentatively.

_I can hear you._

_This is amazing! _I could feel more of her emotions when I communicated this way. It was hard at first but as the weeks went on I became much better at it and could communicate with her at longer distances.

After the first few days Saphira switched to a nocturnal schedule because of scouting missions. So I began to visit her an hour or so before dusk and then left. For the first week, I bought it and then I became suspicious. How many times does it take to scout the same piece of land? With careful questioning of Farica and gentle prodding of Saphira, combined with the gossip I heard floating around, a picture began to form. An Urgal leader had left around the same time as these nocturnal scouting missions had started and then reappeared about a week and a half later. Eragon had only been spotted briefly when he and Saphira left and when they came back. He didn't visit his cousin anymore or talk with Nasuada regularly. I was frowning on my way to meet with Saphira, puzzling over the information. I kept turning it over in my mind and I felt like I was missing something, something that would make everything make sense. I shrugged it off and celebrated the fact that my sister had been up and walking for a whole hour.

_Saphira. _I greeted her, _My sister is up and walking again! The healers had to force her to lay down again. _

_That is good news Raisa._

She was happy for me but there was an undercurrent of moodiness that I had noticed for these last three weeks. Since she did not have a cycle like a human women, I was at a loss to describe an epiphany. The mental bond between dragon and Rider was strong and if it was severed by distance, it made them twitchy for lack of a better word. They did not like not knowing the well-being of their Rider. Then I began to piece together the Urgal's sudden departure and arrival. Why no one had actually talked to Eragon or really seen him in weeks.

_Saphira. _I began hesitantly. _Is Eragon really here? Or has he left?_

She looked at me sharply and suddenly I remembered that Saphira is very much a dragon and behaves differently than a human.

_No, he is not._

_Where is he?_

There was silence.

_You don't have to tell me, I'm just glad I figured out why you have been so moody lately._

_I have not been moody! A dragon does not get moody._

I laughed and switched topics. A few days later Saphira just left with no explanation. I hunted down Farica to get some answers from her. With some reluctance she told me, reasoning that it couldn't hurt anything if I knew since it had already happened. Of course it had to be dwarven politics. Over a week passed before Saphira and Eragon got back and in that time Issy was walking around and now riding a horse.

There was a celebration in honor of the new Dwarf king and I could practically smell the alcohol in the air. I slipped out at the first opportunity, with my hand on my dagger just in case. All seemed to be clear and I relaxed slightly before I heard lumbering footsteps behind me. I started to walk faster and altered my path so I would run into Saphira, hopefully a dragon would scare them off. If a dragon did not, then they were stupid and probably drunk. My hand tightened around the hilt as I heard three pairs of footsteps and loud laughter. I relaxed some but continued to walk.

"What's the hurry sweetheart?" I turned to face the men and could smell the alcohol on their breath.

"Leave me alone." I warned.

"Ah you don't mean that." The other said with a leer and took a step closer.

I searched for Saphira's conscious and called for help. I pulled out my dagger and held it in a defensive position. "Stay back." I hissed.

They laughed and stumbled forward. "I'm warning you."

"She's got fire in her, I like that."

That did it. I slashed and left a nice clean deep slice from the corner of his eye to the edge of his jaw.

"You little!" They lunged as one and I was extremely lucky that they were drunk, otherwise I would not have stood a chance.

My hand was slippery with blood now and I took a step back and collided with someone. I jumped forward and to the side. There was a fourth one? He grabbed my wrist and whispered gently "Easy." He released me and made quick work of the three men. I squinted in the dark to try to make out the face of my rescuer.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. But who…" I trailed off as he stepped closer and I was able to make out his face. "Eragon."

"Yes, and you must be Raisa."

And that was how I officially met Eragon Shadeslayer.

**A/N This was originally intended as a one-shot but if I get enough people wanting me to continue this I could turn it into a multi-chapter story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thank you to: ****i am a Fire-jay, mara, Satar113, Tessa Oswin Holmes, rajaman0, David Nathan, and Niet boeiend for leaving a review. Here is 'more' and I hope that all of you like it. Thank you also to those who favorited/followed this story.**

Things soon changed after I met Eragon Shadeslayer. When I went to talk to Saphira she was not always alone, Eragon was there perhaps half the time. It was not uncommon for me to see him around the camp and instead of being able to go unnoticed like before, he always made an effort to exchange a few words with me. It was different and strange and I was not sure how I felt about it. I stared down at my sister and sighed.

Issy had been begging me for days to meet Saphira. I always told her that she was not yet strong enough. Finally I had no more excuses and hesitantly asked Saphira if it was okay with her if I brought my sister with me next time. She had agreed, apparently she was just as curious to meet Isodele as Isodele was to meet her because I had talked about both of them so much.

Which is how I found myself carefully watching my sister as I led her to Saphira. Her color was far better than before and her legs were not near as shaky as they had been a couple of weeks ago. I knew I was hovering and that I bothered her when people got that close to her but I did not care.

"Stop it Raisa, you're making me nervous."

"Just be careful."

She rolled her eyes. "I know, quit worrying."

A minute or two passed in silence then, "We're here."

"Really? What gave it away? The blue dragon lying right there in the sun?" She said sarcasm dripping from every word.

"There's no need to be rude."

"That was not being rude. That was being sarcastic, big difference."

"Your tone was more rude than it was sarcastic."

"Not it wasn't."

"Yes it was Issy." I said firmly.

She gave me a harrumph as we stopped and found places to sit. I introduced them as I carefully arranged the skirt of my dress and pushed back a strand of dark hair that had come free of my bun. For a long time Isodele was transfixed by Saphira and did not say a single word. I waited patiently for the torrent of questions to rush forth out of her mouth. Issy never stayed silent for long and had the habit of saying whatever came to her mind with complete disregard for the feelings of others. She wasn't actively trying to be rude the majority of the time, it was just that she is incredibly blunt and does not see the point of small talk and picks up on things that others do not notice. She was indulged more in this when she was a child but now that she is fourteen, it just made people feel mildly uncomfortable and defensive.

"Are dragon's scales always monochromatic or do you get a mix of colors?"

_We are always monochromatic._

"Hmm, is the color of scales inherited from one or both parents and if by one parent do the color of scales match up with the parent that is the same gender?"

Saphira gave a slow blink before answering. _We receive our coloring from either of our parents, it does not always match up with gender. Sometimes the color of our scales skips a generation. _

"I have heard that dragons can use magic in some cases but do not need the words of a spell and that they do not even have to say anything at all. How do you work magic and how come you don't use it more often?"

_We do not need words because we know our own minds and know exactly what we want our magic to do. Our magic comes from a primal place deep within us and we cannot always control when we can access it. _

Issy nodded sagely and propped her chin up on her hands. "What is it like to fly?" She asked wistfully.

_There is nothing else like it. It is pure freedom and joy. I cannot describe it any better than that. _

"Someday, I will find a way to fly." Isodele said resolutely.

"You get sea sick, how do you know it would not be the same in the air?" My voice was reasonable as I spoke.

"I wouldn't."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I actually want to fly, I don't trust boats." She said this last part seriously and directed it towards Saphira.

_Why ever not?_

"Because they are not very sturdy and they are stuffy and I get nauseous on any type of boat."

"She fell off a small river boat when she was a child and almost drowned. She has never completely gotten over the experience."

"I am too over it. I don't mind going swimming. The water doesn't scare me, the boats do."

"If you had not been climbing up on the railing you would have not fallen out. Father warned you not to."

"And of course I climbed it. I was at the stage that I did everything that I was told not to do. That stage of life was a good learning experience though."

_How was it a good learning experience Isodele?_

"Because I learned that some rules are there for a very good reason and others are just there to preserve social norms."

We talked for a little while longer until I noticed the signs of my sister's fatigue. We said our goodbyes and I supported my sister so we could walk back to our shared tent. I left her there with strict orders to rest, and then exited the tent. I had no idea where I was going and all I knew was that I was feeling restless and could not stay still in a tent. I wandered around and weaved my way through the crowds of people. I paused in a patch of shade and was minding my own business when I heard snatches of a conversation. I made to go another way when I caught the words _Helgrind _and _Katrina _and something else about _Ra'zac. _My curiosity piqued by the first and last words as they sounded familiar, I ran through my mental collection of books and scrolls because I knew that I should know them.

It came to me suddenly and I shuddered at what I remembered. I wanted absolutely nothing do with whatever they were discussing and retraced my steps to go another way. I did not get far before I was stopped by a touch at my elbow. I turned and came face to face with Eragon.

"Raisa, how much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that whatever is happening I want no part in it. Helgrind and its inhabitants can rot for all I care."

"You are remarkably well educated for a Noble's daughter." He remarked.

"My father is a scholar. To him ignorance is the worst sin a person can commit." I replied.

He scrutinized me carefully before giving me a single nod. "Saphira trusts you so that means that I do as well. But know that if you do tell anyone what you heard, there will be severe consequences."

Threat received loud and clear. So much for trusting me, but then again if I was in his position I would not be too trusting either. So I squared my shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.

"I understand. But whatever you are going to do, it would be a good idea to let Nasuada know so she doesn't go into panic mode. "

That got his attention and as he once again studied me I was suddenly hit by how alien some of his facial features appeared. The overall effect worked for him though; as he did not seem as unapproachable and untouchable as the elven spellcasters appeared. I could see why so many women were going gaga for him. I gave an internal shrug, just because I could understand it did not mean that I had the same feelings. I could admit when someone was attractive without being attracted to them.

"And how do you know Nasuada that well to know that is what she would do?"

"I don't know her that well, but I have eyes and ears of my own." I announced magnanimously.

When he just stared at me, obviously waiting for more I sighed and then elaborated on my answer.

"And I know Farica, Nasuada's maid." My mind flashed back to finding her in Surda with a distraught expression on her face. She had gotten lost and I had helped her find her way. I remembered being in her shoes so to speak. When I had first left my father's estate for Court I had gotten lost more times that I care to admit. A kind older Lady had helped me find my way during those first few weeks and I wanted to return the favor to someone else. One good deed deserving another and all that. I am a big believer in what goes around comes around and I did not want my (non)actions to come around one day and bite me in the butt so to speak.

"That actually explains a lot."

I tilted my head to the side in question.

"It's not important." He gave me a fleeing smile but there was grim determination in his eyes when he next spoke. "Saphira and I will be gone for a few days."

I filled in the blanks. They must be going to Helgrind for some reason, perhaps to kill the Ra'zac but the way he said it and his body language screamed to me that it was personal somehow. I pitied whoever came up against the combined wrath of Eragon and Saphira.

"Okay."

"Do you think you can manage to stay out of trouble for that long?"

"I was doing just fine before the two of you came along, besides with the stories that Saphira had told me, I should be asking you that." I said with one eyebrow raised.

"She told you?" For a moment his mask cracked and I saw the person underneath without the burden of being the last free Dragon Rider and all that entailed, and I instead saw a young man who was outraged that I now knew some embarrassing stories about him.

"Well yes, what did you think we did the whole time? Exchange hair tips?"

"I can't believe that she told you." He muttered.

"Don't worry, I don't think any less of you to know that you are as human as the rest of us." I said with a teasing smile.


End file.
